There are around two million school age children who suffer with a food allergy and one in twenty of all children under the age of three also shows signs of an allergy to foodstuffs.
The symptoms of allergies are experienced when histamine is released.
The takes place when a child is exposed to a food to which they have developed lgE - allergy antibodies.
Before this can happen the child must have already been exposed to that food but this may have been through breast milk from it's mother.
This will then show itself in one of many ways, affecting breathing, the skin, the digestion system or the cardiovascular system.
It is believed by Leonard Bacharier, MD, assistant professor pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis that the age at which you wean your baby onto solids could well be a contributing factor to the presence of allergies in the child's life.
The risk of allergic reactions have been proved to be increased if babies are started on solids before the age of 4 to 6 months.
The chances are also increased if both parents suffer allergic reactions - not necessarily foods, but even pollens etc.
Weaning your baby onto solid foods is something that should be done slowly and carefully - especially if there is a history of allergies in the family.
Any foodstuffs that are known to carry a risk of allergic reactions, such as nuts, should be introduced late in the stages of weaning - preferably until the age of two years at least.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends:

• After 1 year: cow's milk
• After 2 years: Eggs
• After 3 years: fish, shellfish, peanuts and tree nuts.
  Tree nuts include: walnuts, pecans, pistachios, brazil nuts, cashews,almonds and coconuts (these are the most common but this is not a comprehensive list)

The only way to be sure to avoid an allergic reaction is to avoid the food altogether and although this sounds simple, in a culture where we eat many pre-produced and processed foods, this can be a tricky job.
You will find that spend much of your time reading food labels as many processed foods will include peanuts, milk, eggs etc.
Read carefully as labelling is not always clear.
The terms casein and albumin show the presence of milk or egg for example.
We also have the situation where cross contamination can take place when factory equipment is used for products, for example biscuits, which contain nuts and then the production line is changed to produce biscuits which are not labelled as containing nuts.
It is easy for cross contamination to take place and if you suffer with a serious allergy you may find that this will be enough to affect you.
The situation is more difficult when you are dealing with children as obviously they are not able to make decisions about what to eat with the same precision as a parent.
For this reason their allergies should be very clearly communicated to school, daycare workers, friends parents and, in fact, any adult who has regular contact with them.
You can never be too careful with a child with an allergy and it is up to the parents to make sure that all steps are taken to reduce the risk of problems.
Well labelled allergy identification bracelets are a good idea.
Sensitivity to many food stuffs may diminish as your child grows up.
This is often the case when it comes to milk and eggs, but unfortunately not so for nuts, fish and shellfish.
These tend to stick around for life.
Below is a list of the most common symptoms of an allergic reaction:

• Skin complaints and rashes such as Hives or Eczema
• Abdominal cramps
• Nausea and vomitting
• Diarrhea
• Tingling in the mouth
• Swelling of the tongue and of the throat
• Difficulty in breathing including coughing and wheezing
• Drop in blood pressure
• Loss of consciousness
• Any combination of the above symptoms - anaphylaxis

All the above must be taken seriously as obviously the more serious can be life threatening and can result in death.
The eight most common food allergic culprits are:

• Peanuts
• Shellfish
• Fish
• Tree nuts
• Eggs
• Milk
• Soy
• Wheat

Due to the increase in the awareness of allergies in children, you will find some excellent advice regarding the subject and help should be sought if you think that your child may be a sufferer.
Source for information above: Washington University in St Louis.
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